Koulourakia

They are a big hit with my husband who says that they are very close to the cookies he remembers from The National Bakery in Tarpon Springs, FL. My first batch, he said, were a little small, so I made the rest larger. (I think the larger ones baked better.) I also had him look at the color, so that I would know if I had baked them long enough. I made some adaptations to the recipe that I found in Greek Cooking for Everyone, by Theoni Pappas and Elvira Monore, and include some details I noted on how much dough to use and resting the dough.

1 cup butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 cups flour (used King Arthur AP)
3 eggs
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 C milk (used nonfat–all I had in the house)
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1 egg with 2 Tbsp. milk for glaze
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I began by creaming the butter with the sugar and salt. I added the eggs, one at a time, beating after each (speed 2), then the milk and the vanilla.
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I sifted the 5 cups of flour, added sifted baking powder, then stirred to combine. I added that mixture slowly to the butter mixture (on 1 and 2 Cuisinart stand mixer), until combined.
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At first the dough was very sticky. However, it firmed up as I worked, so I suggest letting it sit for about 15-20 minutes before shaping–and do not be tempted to add more flour. I made ring shapes. I used small balls of dough (about 1-1 1/4 inches). I rolled them into a rope (about 4-4 1/4 inches), then made a circle (like a wreath). I shaped them on my silpat mat, which worked very well. I put 16 at a time on a parchment lined cookie sheet. I brushed with the glaze–don’t skimp on it. I baked them for 21 minutes at 350F. I moved them to a rack to cool. The recipe made about 6 dozen.
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The original recipe did not mention salt. I think the authors must have used salted butter. It also included 1/4 tsp. anise, ground, and 1/4 tsp. ground cloves, and it included 1/2 C sesame seeds, that were sprinkled on after the glaze. The ones my husband recalls did not have sesame seed, and he cannot eat sesame seeds, so I omitted them. These are a very plain cookie, but they have a satisfying crunch, and they are delightful with coffee or tea.

• This topic was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by BakerAunt.